Harry Houdini News

In this week's Theater Stories, we are learning about the Al Hirschfeld theater! From theater ghosts to short-lived musical sequels, this theater is home to endless amounts of history, interesting facts and more.

d'ILLUSION: The Houdini Musical has officially launched a streaming Audio Theater Experience online at houdinionbroadway.com. The Audio Theater Experience, an entirely new media format, was recorded in its entirety remotely by the cast and creative team throughout the last three months. 

May 14, 2020 - d'ILLUSION: The Houdini Musical announces the launch of an audiobook set for the end of Summer 2020. The project will feature a full audio experience including dialogue, orchestration, songs, foley sounds and narration all recording remotely during this time of self-isolation. 

Nick Mohammed, The Pleasance, Soho Theatre and United Agents have announced the digital release of Mr. Swallow: Houdini - freeing from the shackles of 2017 the Mr. Swallow-anointed, first-ever entirely true auto-biopic of legendary magician Harry Houdini.

Company is officially in previews on Broadway!  Following the engagement in London's West End, the new production of Sondheim and George Furth's landmark American musical, Company, directed by two-time Tony Award® winner Marianne Elliott comes to Broadway starring Tony and Grammy Award® winner Katrina Lenk as Bobbie and two-time Tony Award and two-time Grammy Award winner Patti LuPone as Joanne.

JetBlue presents Slow Burn Theatre Company's production of Ragtime sponsored by American National Bank in the Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts Friday, March 20-Sunday, April 5.

Fifteen years after its first production of the musical, Musical Theatre West revisits the Tony Award-winning musical RAGTIME for only its second time---smartly reviving the musical in a similarly lavish production that beautifully converges the show's classic staging and vibe with wonderfully integrated 21st Century tech upgrades that help elevate the material rather than hinder its storytelling. Under the enlightened direction of Paul David Bryant (who also provides the production's high-energy choreography), this brand new, spectacularly engrossing production bellows with an emotional fervor and is one of my favorite iterations of this musical I have seen in recent years. This local revival---which continues performances at the Carpenter Center for the Performing Arts in Long Beach through February 23, 2020---is a feast for the senses.

Aurora's award-winning Paramount Theatre - the second largest subscription house in the U.S. - announced today the four blockbuster musicals on tap for its 10th anniversary season in 2020-2021:

The Seacoast Repertory Theatre will kick off the new year with fireworks. Ragtime, the award-winning musical depicting America's tumultuous social vibrancy, will set the stage for year of theater considering where modern society has come from and where it is going.

Musical Theatre West (MTW) brings five-time Tony Award-winning musical Ragtime to the Carpenter Performing Arts Center February 7-23.  Based on E.L. Doctorow's acclaimed novel, the 13-time Tony-nominated musical tells the story of three families trying to find their way during the turn of the 20th century in New York City; each struggling with the changing cultural climate in America and each facing the promise of hope and new beginnings in the midst of prejudice and bigotry.  Showcasing music and lyrics by the Tony Award-winning team of Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens and a Tony Award-winning book by Terrence McNally, Ragtime features a score with such memorable songs as a?oeYour Daddy's Son,a?? a?oeWheels of a Dream,a?? a?oeTill We Reach That Daya?? and a?oeMake Them Hear You.a??

The Detroit Musical, Planet Ant's hilarious interpretation of Detroit's history, has received a grant from Michigan Humanities for a limited run of six performances, opening on Friday, March 13 (313 Day). In conjunction with the March 13 opening night performance, Planet Ant will host a 313 Day party to celebrate the resurgent pride in living within the famous area code. The musical comedy will run for two weekends, closing on Sunday, March 22.

Premium network EPIX announced today that a drama series (title forthcoming) based on the short story Jerusalem's Lot by Stephen King has been greenlit for a 10-episode season, starring Academy Award® winner Adrien Brody.  Set in the 1850s, the series follows Captain Charles Boone (Brody), who relocates his family of three children to his ancestral home in the small, seemingly sleepy town of Preacher's Corners, Maine after his wife dies at sea. However, Charles will soon have to confront the secrets of his family's sordid history, and fight to end the darkness that has plagued the Boones for generations. The series will commence production in May 2020 in Halifax, Nova Scotia with an eye towards a Fall 2020 premiere.

RAGTIME is a musical that is as relevant now as it was in 1998 when it premiered and the production currently on at PlayMakers Repertory Company makes that abundantly clear. While the show might be set in the state of New York in 1906, it makes statements about immigration, race relations, corrupt justice, and women's rights that continue to ring true today. Director Zi Alikhan stages the show as you've never seen before, cutting away the period clothing and elaborate setting to focus on its brilliant music and lyrics and the poignant themes it explores. The new 360 degree theatre layout puts the audience firmly into the action, letting them get even closer to the characters than in a normal show. 

The Illusionists are coming back to Detroit and ready to celebrate the holidays with the entire family with their all new, mind-blowing show at the Fox Theatre this weekend. The Illusionists a?' Magic Of The Holidays will have three incredible performances on November 29th and 30th featuring the jaw-dropping talents of some the most incredible illusionists on earth including The Elusive, The Trickster, The Transformationalists, The Daredevil, The Manipulator, The Showman, and The Mentalist. The Illusionists have shattered box office records across the globe and dazzle audiences of all ages with a powerful mix of the most outrageous and astonishing acts ever seen on stage. This non-stop show is packed with thrilling and sophisticated magic of unprecedented proportions. This year's family-friendly show promises even more illusions, close-up magic, mentalism, daring escapes, and technological spectacle performed by master entertainers who've captivated audiences worldwide. BroadwayWorld Detroit was lucky enough to speak with Jonathan Goodwin aka The Daredevil for a few moments during tech rehearsals for the show and he teased us about the exciting things that The Illusionists are bringing to Detroit!

Harry Houdini wrote Sir Arthur Conan Doyle a heartfelt plea to recommend a medium 'you know to be genuine.' His mother had just died and he wanted proof she had not completely vanished. The friends investigated mediums in the U.K., France and the U.S., where Scientific American was to pronounce the medium Margery genuine. They witnessed Eva C's ecotoplasm and, in Atlantic City, Lady Doyle's inspired communication.

a?oeRagtimea?? at Musical Theatre Heritage is more than just a great show. It has harnessed extraordinary power to move its audience and remind us of the idea that is America.

The man who brought us Mr Blobby now seeks redemption by bringing his own, highly acclaimed one man show The Last Act of Harry Houdini to London. Harry Houdini confronted death on a daily basis a?" and his own death, on October 31st, as foretold by the very mediums and mystics he spent his life debunking, is his final act.

Ragtime recently opened at Arden Theatre Company and critics were in attendance. Find out what they had to say!

Old City, Philadelphia opens their 2019-20 season with the winner of the 1998 Tony Awards for Best Score, Book and Orchestrations, RAGTIME. Written by the award-winning composer/lyricist team of Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens (Once on This Island, Seussical and Lucky Stiff), noted playwright Terrence McNally, and based on E.L. Doctorow's distinguished novel, RAGTIME plays the F. Otto Haas Stage from September 19 through October 20, 2019.

Arden Theatre Company in Old City, Philadelphia opened their 2019-20 season with the winner of the 1998 Tony Awards for Best Score, Book and Orchestrations, RAGTIME. The production, which has been featured on 6ABC, FOX29, Philadelphia Inquirer, Metro, 106.1FM, and more, has announced that it is extending due to popular demand now through October 27, 2019.